Scan Gauge

[Geri]

This is our first trip with the unit and I must admit to being intrigued by the data the unit pulses out at me. Other than average mpg, though, most other numbers (we monitor mpg, avg mpg, throttle position, and horsepower) as hills etc flow by. My boat had a chart of hp/rpm/gph which should have a mate in the form of hp/mph/mpg for this RV which could be built from the scan gauge output, however, to save a lot of note taking, I wonder if someone knows the data statement format that is provided by the rv to the scan gauge which might allow a lap top to record a couple of trips worth of data to create the graph?

[bgilly]

When I evaluated various OBD readers I didn't find that Scan Gauge had as many features as Scan Tool OBDLink on grabbing data: ScanTool.net LLC - OBDLink MX Scan Tool | OBD Interface | App Accelerator - ScanTool.net
With OBDLink you can record via smart phone, tablet or PC.
With Scan Gauge you can use it in combination with Fuelly: http://www.fuelly.com to keep a running record of your mpg. You can use Fuelly without a OBD scan device.

Bobby

[Geri]

Thanks Bobby,
Had I had your foresight I might have chosen the OBD unit. We track mileage based on the how-far-you-went/how-much-gas-used calculation at each fill up and find the results reasonably clustered around 9 mpg. We found that, in our car with a built-in mpg gauge, we were driving 'competitively' to see who could get the best mileage; and wanted to extend that game to the RV. Thus the scanguage. But too much is happening to really get a handle on all the parameters

[Snowman9000]

I have an Ultra-Gauge, which is very similar to your Scangauge. For what you are trying to do, can you use more than one set of trip readings? You seem to have a handle on what data you want to collect. On mine, I would use trip mpg and trip mph. As it has turned out, I have not paid any attention to trip MPH, or GPH (gallons) either for that matter. The biggest factors I've found to affect MPG are wind, then speed. Then hills. And there is no direct way to read wind. You'd have to use throttle position or engine load or HP, as you are wanting to do.

In fact, after 3000 miles with it, it's become less interesting to me. I could learn to watch the trip odometer vs the fuel gauge and deduce what the MPG is within a few tenths. I learned to do that with my diesel truck pulling a fifth wheel trailer.

One thing I learned from my car is that a big improvement comes from anticipating stops and slowdowns, and coasting up to them. On an RV trip this doesn't play out much. But I also found, on our current Chevy small MH, that I got better MPG without cruise control. And if you run behind a big truck, it really jumps. In the name of science only, of course.

What model and chassis do you have? If it's a Ford, 9 MPG is better than most people get.

[bgilly]

Geri, try Fuelly if you already haven't. It is a good tracker especially if you have a smart phone. You can have multiple vehicles in your fuelly account so you can see how much you have traveled and spent for the week/month/year.
I wish these Fords came with the features in the typical driver information center. Even though the MPG wasn't dead-on it still gave an idea how the performance was doing.

Bobby

[Geri]

We have a 2860SF which is a Ford E-450. We do measure mpg on a per/tank basis and track variance on that figure, but with a range of 400miles/tank, and given the wide variance in fuel prices, our fill-ups are driven by Gas Buddy more than anything else, and in the course of a tank full there is normally a wide wide variance in wind, grade, speed. On the freeway ScanGauge pretty much indicates 9.1 mpg, but through in traffic, hills, etc. It'll (discounting spikes) go from 6 to 12. We play a little game to see who can maintain the best mpg average, and I'd like to have a little better handle on the sensitivity of the various parameters. I agree that HP, Throttle Position, and Speed are the variables I can control; wind, grade, and traffic are handled by a higher authority.

[bgilly]

Bio-fuel/octane levels from various fuel locations can impact efficiency as well as running the generator.
These are things that make the accuracy of mpg somewhat diluted.

Bobby

[NCIC105]

I purchased an older scanguage for 40.00 and sent it in for upgrades...25.00...As good as the new scanguages.